Bookmark

Summary Information

Abstract

A founding member of the Beat Generation, Carr was a friend of Allen Ginsberg,
Jack Kerouac, and other beat writers, and attended Columbia University in 1944. The
Lucien Carr Papers contain correspondence with prominent Beat writers Allen Ginsberg and
Jack Kerouac, as well as some clippings and ephemera.

Arrangement

Arrangement

Description

Scope and Content

The Lucien Carr papers contain Carr's correspondence, primarily with Allen Ginsberg and
Jack Kerouac, as well as clippings, book reviews, and articles relating to Ginsberg,
Kerouac, Burroughs, and other Beat Generation figures.

The correspondence series contains letters, telegrams, and postcards sent to Carr
from his friends Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac. Some of these letters include
fragments of works in progress, such as the Ginsberg letter that includes an early
draft of the first section of "Howl: For Carl Solomon." Many of Kerouac's letters
take the form of poems.

The printed Material and Ephemera series is comprised of clippings, articles,
publications, and book reviews relating to members of the Beat Generation and
their work. Also included are three small photographs, two of Allen Ginsberg and
one of William Burroughs, and a typed copy of the Buddhist text The Diamond Sutra
that was owned by Jack Kerouac.

Subject Headings

The subject headings listed below are found in this collection. Links below allow searches at Columbia University through the Archival Collections Portal and through CLIO, the catalog for Columbia University Libraries, as well as ArchiveGRID, a catalog that allows users to search the holdings of multiple research libraries and archives.

History / Biographical Note

Biographical Note

Lucien Carr was born in New York City in 1925, but spent most
of his childhood in St. Louis, Missouri. It was in St. Louis that he first met
Washington University instructor David Kammerer and Kammerer's childhood friend William
S. Burroughs.

After graduating from Andover Academy, Carr briefly enrolled
in Bowdoin College, but soon transferred to the University of Chicago, where he stayed
for two semesters until an apparent suicide attempt caused him to be briefly
institutionalized. His mother, living in New York at the time, convinced Carr to
transfer to Columbia University. At Columbia, Carr, a brilliant student, befriended his
Columbia dormmate Allen Ginsberg and recent graduate, Jack Kerouac. He introduced
Ginsberg and Kerouac to one another and to William Burroughs, who, along with Kammerer,
had moved to New York in Carr's wake. The intelligent and charismatic Carr quickly
became the ringleader of the group of friends--introducing them to the sensualist poetry
of Rimbaud and encouraging their exploration of Greenwich Village clubs.

This period of Carr's life ended abruptly when, after a night
of drinking, Kammerer made increasingly persistent and aggressive sexual advances on
Carr in Riverside Park. The situation became violent and resulted in Carr stabbing and
killing Kammerer. He was convicted of manslaughter and served two years in prison for
the crime.

Though Carr was instrumental in the bringing together the key
players who would form the core of the Beat Generation, he later remained on the
periphery of the movement. He valued his privacy, and asked that his name not be
mentioned in press relating to the beats and even requesting that Allen Ginsberg remove
his name from the dedication of "Howl." Though he moved out of the spotlight, he
remained close with his college friends, supporting Kerouac and Ginsberg throughout
their careers, including briefly allowing Kerouac to live with him and his wife while
Kerouac worked on the manuscript for On the Road.

He married Francesca (Cessa) van Hartz and took a job at
United Press International where he worked as an editor for the entirety of his 47-year
career in the news business. He and Francesca had three children--Simon, Ethan, and the
writer Caleb Carr--before they divorced.